Emptying the Notebook

Dave Matter

Sunday

Oct 31, 2010 at 12:01 AMOct 31, 2010 at 4:42 PM

Checkmate, Pelinis.

Much was made of the chess match that would unfold in Lincoln, Neb., on Saturday when Missouri’s spread offense lined up against Nebraska’s spread-stopping nickel defense. After spending the offseason studying the Cornhuskers’ system, Gary Pinkel’s offensive staff believed it had a good feel for how Bo and Carl Pelini’s defense would attack the Tigers.

“We know a lot more about ourselves,” offensive coordinator David Yost said last Monday, “and we spent the whole offseason working on this coverage so we don’t find teams that can lock down on us and do what they did to us” in 2009.

The Pelinis did their homework, too.

Heading into yesterday’s matchup, the Huskers had embraced their four-down linemen alignments and played with two linebackers and five defensive backs or, against spread formations like the ones Missouri uses, one linebacker and six DBs. But Nebraska saved its curveball for the Tigers: The Huskers used their normal personnel up front but worked out of a three-man front, taking defensive end Cameron Meredith out of a three-point stance and using him as a stand-up outside linebacker. Along the line, the Huskers spread out their linemen, putting bigger bodies along the edges.

“They lined up their D-tackles on our tackles,” Missouri center Tim Barnes said. “Having those guys out there, I know it’s different for our tackles, having that much extra weight. I know they’re used to faster, quicker guys.”

“We worked that three-man front all spring and all fall, just for this game,” defensive coordinator Carl Pelini told reporters after the game. “Our guys were ready to execute it.”

Nebraska also started seldom used safeties Courtney Osborne and Austin Cassidy, players the coaches considered better open-field tacklers against Missouri’s running game. They played every snap and combined for 12 tackles.

Nebraska defensive tackle Jared Crick described the strategy as something the Huskers only planned to use occasionally — until it started working, over and over again. The change seemed to frazzle Misouri’s pass protections and clogged up the running lanes, setting the stage for the Tigers’ early offensive meltdown: MU’s first five possessions netted 57 yards on 21 snaps from scrimmage.

“We mixed it up good to try and keep them off balance,” Bo Pelini said, “try to give some different looks to” Blaine “Gabbert. We didn’t settle in on one thing the whole game. They have a good offense and you can’t just sit there in one thing.”

“They came out lined up a little differently than they had shown in any games,” Barnes said of the three-line look. “It kind of changed the way we had approached all week. It changed the way we attacked it. It took away from the run and focused a little more on the pass.”

The strategy might have seemed like an invitation for Missouri to run the ball, but other than Gabbert draws and scrambles, the Tigers had little success on the ground with its tailbacks, who rarely touched the ball once the Huskers’ lead grew. Outside of De’Vion Moore’s 33-yard pitch-and-run TD out of a jumbo/QB sneak formation, the tailbacks ran the ball 11 times for 35 yards.

“They used it a lot more than we expected,” Barnes said of the three-man look. “They hadn’t showed it a whole lot this year. They used it primarily against us. We practiced against it a little bit, but it wasn’t something we prepared for them to use the whole game.”

With the Huskers playing snug man coverage downfield, the middle of the field was left exposed for Gabbert to attack with his legs, but that appeared to be a sacrifice Nebraska was willing to make. Gabbert can pick up some speed when he’s running downhill, but he’s not exactly Cam Newton or Denard Robinson in the open field. Plus, the more he ran, the more vulnerable he became to the Huskers’ kill shots.

“We kind of expected him to sit in the pocket a little more,” said Crick, who piled up eight tackles and a sack. “We were expecting a lot more running, and it showed. We have to respect Gabbert and his feet. He’s a pretty quick kid and it showed today. … But I thought we adjusted well.”

Meanwhile, Missouri receivers could not shake loose the Huskers’ swarming man coverages, forcing Gabbert to run for his life in the pocket, even when the defensive line didn’t get a great initial push off the line. The Huskers sacked Gabbert six times.

“They played a couple different coverages, but for the most part if was all man-on-man,” receiver T.J. Moe said. “Once you hit 5 yards down the field, no matter what the coverage was, it was you against him. We didn’t do a good enough job getting open today.”

The change up front was a clever approach by the Huskers, but there was nothing fancy or surprising about the coverages. Nebraska’s covermen were simply better than Gabbert’s receivers. It’s the best secondary in the Big 12 — sorry, Longhorns — and possibly the best in the country.

As for Gabbert, some of his bad habits re-emerged in Lincoln, notably the pocket jitters that had disappeared in wins over Texas A&M and Oklahoma. Credit Nebraska’s coverages and pass rush, but the quarterback wasn’t sharp enough to consistently move the chains, especially without a running game to complement the passing.

And just seven days after Oklahoma barely got a hand on the quarterback, Gabbert took a beating from the Huskers. Pelini’s defense got away with a couple shots that could have drawn penalties — an obvious face mask and Osborne’s questionable helmet-to-helmet hit late in the fourth quarter. And Gabbert seemed a bit loopy in his postgame interview session giving a few incoherent answers to reporters’ questions. Gabbert insisted he felt fine.

“I’m never woozy,” he said. “No cobwebs. I’m going to get up ready to go, get a lift in and have practice tomorrow night.”

Asked about MU’s struggles on third down, Gabbert replied, “I think it’s more frustrating for you guys. I didn’t really think about it.” Huh?

Asked if the better team won the game, Gabbert offered, “I don’t know. Football’s football. People are going to win. You’ve got to come out and play you’re A-game.”

That said, I was glad to see Gabbert cut off a silly question about his Missouri-Nebraska recruiting saga. There’s a time and place to ask about his choice of Tigers over Huskers, and, frankly, that place and time wasn’t a few minutes after Saturday’s game. “That was four years ago,” Gabbert said. “I’m not focused on that at all.”

? BTS Offensive Player of the Game

Nobody in black and gold deserves mention here, so game ball goes to Nebraska I-back Roy Helu Jr. Think about all the prolific runners who have worn the red N on their helmets: Mike Rozier, Eric Crouch, Calvin Jones, Lawrence Phillips, Tommie Frazier, Ahman Green. None of them ever had a day as prolific as Helu’s performance against the Tigers. And you cannot make a case that Helu’s big day was only a matter of a few big plays. If you wipe out the three long touchdown runs from Helu’s total, he still ran for 115 yards on 25 carries. That’s 4.6 yards a carry, a yard better than MU opponents had averaged per carry coming into yesterday’s game.

Runner-up: If anyone on the Tigers deserves recognition, here’s a nod to tight end Michael Egnew, who made some tough catches to move the chains. He finished with a game-high seven catches for a game-high 70 yards.

? BTS Defensive Players of the Game

The Nebraska secondary absolutely smothered Missouri’s receivers. Cornerbacks Prince Amukamara and Ciante Evans held MU outside receivers Wes Kemp and Jerrell Jackson to just four catches for 38 yards. (And Evans, a true freshman, was playing for the Huskers’ standout cover corner Alfonzo Dennard, who left the game early with a concussion.) Hybrid D-backs Eric Hagg and DeJon Gomes were glued to their receivers, too, combining for 11 tackles, two breakups and an interception.

Runner-up: Some wondered whether defensive tackle Jared Crick’s production and reputation was a product of playing alongside Heisman finalist Ndamukong Suh last season, and his play through Nebraska’s first seven games didn’t dispute that skepticism. Up until Saturday’s game, the junior lineman had been good, rarely great. But against the Tigers, Crick was a force in the middle, finishing with eight tackles, two behind the line, two hurries and a sack.

? BTS Special Teams Player of the Game

Nebraska kicker Alex Henery gets all the notoriety in Lincoln, but it was kickoff specialist Adi Kunalic who impressed on Saturday, burying all seven of his kickoffs deep into the end zone for seven touchbacks. Missouri’s kickoff return unit had been showing signs of life lately but the Tigers never had a chance Saturday.

? BTS Coach of the Game

I should spread some love to the other Husker coaches, too. Just as some writers and I were heading to the elevator to get down to the field, jubilant Nebraska offensive coaches came out of their booth in the press box. Offensive coordinator Shawn Watson was as animated as you’ll see a coach after a big win. “I love that ‘Fist’ defense!” he shouted, pumping his fist over and over again. (A couple Missouri players said in recent interviews that they refer to their defense as the “Fist.” So, it’s comforting to know some folks out there are still reading the newspaper.)

But Watson had plenty to celebrate. Missouri had bottled up star quarterback Taylor Martinez before eventually knocking him out of the game, but the Huskers never flinched. At that point, Watson’s offense had found another superstar in Helu as the offensive line outfoxed and outmuscled the Tigers to a 24-0 lead. Watson seemed to have the answers for MU’s constant shifting up front and aggressiveness at linebacker.

A few more thoughts …

? Missouri fans should take comfort in knowing that’s the last elite defense the Tigers will play during the regular season. That’s not to say MU, down to No. 14 in the two major human polls, will cruise through the final four weeks of the season, but here’s how the remaining opponents ranked nationally in total defense coming into the weekend: Texas Tech, No. 100; Kansas State, No. 99; Iowa State, No. 115 and Kansas, No. 91. No team left on the slate comes close to matching Nebraska’s skill in the secondary and strength on the D-line. If the Tigers can bounce back, regain their confidence and fix the blown assignments on defense, there’s no reason they shouldn’t march to an 11-1 finish.

? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves too much, but is there a chance Missouri could pull the same BCS sneak attack that Kansas did in 2007? Suppose Missouri and Nebraska win the rest of their regular-season games and the Huskers head to Arlington for the Big 12 championship game by virtue of Saturday’s win. And suppose either Oklahoma or Oklahoma State wins the rest of their games and faces Nebraska for the league title. I doubt the winner would be ranked high enough in the BCS to qualify for the national championship game but it would instead get the automatic BCS invitation to the Fiesta Bowl. That would leave the other BCS bowls with a compelling choice for the at-large selection: Do they take a one-loss Missouri team or the loser of the Big 12 championship game, which would have at least two losses? With ticket sales and TV ratings at stake, would, say, the Orange Bowl prefer two-loss Nebraska, Oklahoma or Oklahoma State over one-loss Missouri? (I realize Baylor is in first place in the South Division, but with games left against OU, OSU and Texas A&M I’m figuring they’ll have at least one more loss. And if not, they already have two regular-season losses, so their only chance at a BCS game would be to win the Big 12 championship.)

Put it this way: As long as Missouri wins the rest of its games and finishes 11-1, the Cotton Bowl could be as low as the Tigers fall. If the Big 12 lands only one team in the BCS, perhaps the Cotton Bowl takes the title game loser and Missouri heads to the Alamo Bowl. Either way, if two months ago you could have been promised an 11-1 regular season with a chance to play LSU, Arkansas or Florida in the Cotton Bowl, would anyone be disappointed?

? Regardless how the Tigers finish the season, Missouri is going to fight the reputation that its fans don’t travel well to bowl games. And that’s why, if I’m Missouri officials, I’m getting copies of last week’s “College GameDay” episode and sending it to all the top BCS and Big 12 bowl reps to prove that MU fans will come out in full force to support their team.

? How did Helu get free on his long runs? On the first one, against an eight-man front, Husker tight end Ben Cotton chop blocked defensive end Aldon Smith into linebacker Zaviar Gooden, and with only Carl Gettis patrolling the middle of the field, Helu burst free into the second level, then the third, then the end zone.

On the second, the right side of Nebraska’s offensive line cleared a huge hole for Helu and safety Jasper Simmons got turned around and took the wrong angle in pursuit as Helu raced down the sideline.

On the third, Helu caught MU’s linebackers lunging out of position with a slight cut in the backfield then burst upfield untouched to the end zone.

? On the All-Big 12 awards watch, I’ve still got Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin at the top of my ballot for offensive player of the year, with Oklahoma State tailback Kendall Hunter and Oklahoma receiver Ryan Broyles on the next two lines. … For top defensive honors, Nebraska safety DeJon Gomes and linebacker Lavonte David made a strong impression on Saturday.

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